Nearly the whole world watched the historical inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America. It was a big party indeed, and many are still holding celebrations in all parts of the world.

Some governments even sent delegations to the US to watch the inauguration ceremony from their hotel rooms because they didn’t have invitations to attend the official ceremony. Well, who can blame them? After all, how often do we see “our son” climb that high?

The Italian Government is seriously considering introducing a new tax on the Permits of Stay. It already costs at least 72 Euros to apply for and renew the permits.

It is a known fact that the population of Italy grows thanks to the high birth rate amongst immigrants. Somebody somewhere must have done his calculations right and discovered that a new tax on permits would generate a lot of income to the State.

20th January 2009: With the inauguration of Barack Obama today as the 44th president of the United States of America, a new era begins in world politics.

It is an era of hope and of a dream that has come true. We can only hope that this hope and dream will be kept alive.

I’d like to hope that President Obama will not tolerate human rights abuse not only in the US and throughout the world. After all he is the president of the country that prides itself in being the vigilant watchdog of the world.
I’d like to hope that President Obama will not tolerate injustices, unjust global financial and political polices, conflicts, and wars that force people to emigrate, leaving behind their sweet homes.

I’d also like to hope that President Obama will not tolerate policies that deny shelter to people fleeing for their lives, the policies that force people to be illegal immigrants hence exposed to bloodsucking exploitation by unscrupulous criminal gangs and employers. 

Finally, I’d like to hope that like President Obama, all world leaders will not tolerate any of the above policies causing immense suffering to people in all parts of the world.

By Stephen Ogongo

It is a high time the Government of Italy granted amnesty to illegal immigrants with jobs. There is no other better way of saying it. These people deserve to be saved from this forced underground style of undignified life.

It is a fact that there are more than a million illegal immigrants working in Italy. While it is wrong to enter the country illegally, this should not stop the Government from granting amnesty to all these people who have managed to find regular jobs, with employers willing and ready to offer them permanent jobs.